Page 105 of The Better Mother
“My pleasure, Ms. Nichols.” He nodded to the two of us and left the room.
Colleen’s head fell back onto the pillow as she sighed with exhaustion. “Oh, thank God. This will make such a difference. Maybe I can actually rest now, and not have to worry about paying the bills for a while.”
I smiled, rocking Evan gently in my arms. “I’m so glad, Colleen. You deserve it. I hope we can keep in touch.”
“I do too,” she said with a tired smile.
“I’m going to let you get some rest now. It’s probably time to feed this little guy too.”
“Yes, I think I could use some more painkillers, and a nap,” she said with sleepy eyes. “Thank you, Savannah.”
“No—thank you.”
By the end of the next day, Dr. Kelly and all the nurses agreed that Baby Evan and I were both well enough to be discharged. Mom and Ellie came to pick me up. They said they had been working all day and night to get my apartment ready and stock up on baby essentials for me. I was so grateful for the two of them.
As soon as I opened the door to my apartment, I heard: “Surprise!”
Friends and family burst into an explosion of noisy enthusiasm under festive strings of crepe paper decorations and a banner that read “Congratulations, Mommy!” Beautifully wrapped presents were piled high on the coffee table, and in the center of the kitchen table was a giant layer cake made of baby diapers with a perfect blue bow on top.
It was the baby shower I’d never gotten to have.
My face was wet with grateful tears as I looked around the room at all the familiar, loving faces, including Amber and my other girlfriends from college, Ellie and her parents, and even Sam and some other coworkers from the Blackwell Agency.
In true baby fashion, Evan slept through the entire thing as I made the rounds, showing him off to everyone. Finally, Mom coaxed the sleeping angel out of my arms so she and Ellie’s mom could take turns nuzzling his sweet face. After handing him off, I turned around to see Sam standing behind me, hands in his pockets and a shy smile on his face.
“Sam, I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so touched.” My eyes were getting misty again.
“I’ve been keeping in touch with Ellie, and asked if I could come by. I didn’t get all the ugly details until today, though.” He shook his head. “My God, Savannah—I just can’t believe it. What a horrible ordeal. You could have been killed—your child too. To say I’m relieved to see you standing here … and that you and your baby are okay … well, it’s an understatement.”
He pulled me into a hug, which only made me cry more. Suddenly my chest and stomach felt a little damp. I gasped, and blushed profusely. As I pulled back from the hug, I self-consciously crossed my arms over my chest, shocked to feel how swollen and hard my breasts felt now that they were filling with milk—and leaking.
“Listen—I wanted you to know,” he said, “I filled Meredith in on everything that happened to you, including the fact that you were cleared of all the charges against you. She was … astonished, to say the least. I don’t want to make any promises, but once you’re settled in, give me a call. Maybe we can find a time to meet for coffee or lunch with Meredith, and catch up. See what she thinks about bringing you back, once you’re ready.”
“That’s so nice of you, Sam. Really, I appreciate all your support. It means more to me than you’ll ever know. I always triedto do the best job I possibly could for Blackwell … I just had some really bad luck this year.”
I looked across the room to see Ellie and my mom holding my son and looking down at him with such love on their faces, it made my throat constrict just a bit. “But I think all that’s over now.”
It’s you and me, kid,I thought with a tender gaze in Evan’s direction.
But it wasn’t just us, was it? It was us, and all of these people filling my apartment with joyful chatter. The ones who loved and supported us.
And despite all odds, Evan had ended up with exactly who he was meant to be with—his mother.
The better mother.
The End
